Food weight vs. volume: Eye openers!

TeenaMarina
TeenaMarina Posts: 420 Member
edited December 16 in Food and Nutrition
SO I finally started using my food scale to get more accurate with my calorie count, and I really wish I'd done it sooner. It appears that when I've been guesstimating I've been ridiculously off. Especially when it comes to, say, fruit. I'll choose a size of apple from the options (ie. small, or medium, 3", etc.) and enter that, but in reality when I weigh the apple the calories are more. My biggest eye opener so far was with strawberries. I've been entering the 1/2 cup of strawberry halves, but boy can I pack a measuring cup with strawberries! If there was a Strawberry Tetris Championship I would win it. I was probably actually eating more than a cup, not a half-cup. It's only my second day of using the scale, so I'm sure I'll have more "doh!" moments to come.

What have been your "eye-openers" since using the scale? Foods that you used to eyeball or measure and are now weighing because you were way off on the actual calories?!

x

Replies

  • modernmom70
    modernmom70 Posts: 373 Member
    Bread often weighs more per slice than it says on the package. So I always weigh the bread to make sure.
  • Sapporo
    Sapporo Posts: 693 Member
    an ounce of cheese is rather small
  • MelKut
    MelKut Posts: 167 Member
    definitely apples and pears! I guess we just have really big apples lol I don't know what is considered medium.

    Also we buy the "green D'anjou pears" from Costco that say 166 grams is a pear and they are 100 calories. When I weigh them they are about 260 grams so calorie-wise more like 160 calories....
  • amandammmq
    amandammmq Posts: 394 Member
    LOL at strawberry Tetris!

    I was actually happy to find out how big an ounce of dark chocolate was. I refuse to deny myself dark chocolate! :love:
  • coconutbuNZ
    coconutbuNZ Posts: 578 Member
    In Weight Watchers fruits and veg have no points - they are "free" foods & can be eaten freely, regardless of size - with a few exeptions like bananas and avocados.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    Pasta! 2 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti is a fairly small amount.

    My food scale is indispensable to achieving my weight loss goals. Love it!
  • mamamudbug
    mamamudbug Posts: 572 Member
    I started weighing things a little over a week ago. I've found differences in cottage cheese, orange juice, protein powder and a few other. It's been really interesting.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    Meat, shredded cheese, and dry cereal were all huge eye-openers for me. I was WAY off on the 'serving size' for those items.
  • TeenaMarina
    TeenaMarina Posts: 420 Member
    In Weight Watchers fruits and veg have no points - they are "free" foods & can be eaten freely, regardless of size - with a few exeptions like bananas and avocados.
    Wha?! That seems wacky to me.
  • Hambone23
    Hambone23 Posts: 486 Member
    I've never focused much on fruits like apples or oranges. Maybe I should. My biggest eye opener was the tablespoon. Sometimes I'd completely overdo it, and sometimes I'd completely under do it. And overdoing a tablespoon of peanut butter is a major calorie bump. Oils too. I also had no idea how big a serving of salad greens could be. I needed a big bowl--a really big bowl--to eat my salad the other day. I was stuffed with just the greens and a low-cal dressing. Who knew? Then there was butter and cheese. Because I was on a "diet," I thought I was allowed far less than I could actually have. That's like finding a fiver in your pocket. So I've had eye opening experiences that were both positive and negative. I can't imagine not using a scale anymore. Even my boyfriend says, "You know, that's one thing you are really consistent about." Yeah, because it makes all the difference now.
  • acs4162
    acs4162 Posts: 99 Member
    HOW MUCH DOES DELI MEAT WEIGH? I have no idea. I just say 2 ounces, but I really don't know how much a "typical" slice of deli turkey/ham/chicken weighs. I'm losing weight fine, but I do wonder if I'm lying when i enter the deli meat each day.
  • emmaonamission
    emmaonamission Posts: 117
    I weigh everything and have done since I started eating healthier. It's SUCH a big help. My biggest eye opener has been cereal - I have 27g of Bran Flakes every morning and when I first started doing this I was SHOCKED at how little that was compared to what I used to have! I was sceptical but 27g is just enough to stop me from being hungry til lunch, so I really didn't need to have so much anyway!
  • stephaneb74
    stephaneb74 Posts: 151 Member
    Got used to use the scale.... not the most precise but defi itely gives an idea..... might upgrade for a digital one someday :-)
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    cheese was the biggest happy surprise for me. I was told 1 oz of cheese looks like a pair of dice. When I weigh out an ounce, it looks much bigger than any dice I have used :)

    Also, I was pleasantly surprised how much 3 ounces of linguine is. I had been way underserving myself on pasta.
  • Hambone23
    Hambone23 Posts: 486 Member
    I weigh everything and have done since I started eating healthier. It's SUCH a big help. My biggest eye opener has been cereal - I have 27g of Bran Flakes every morning and when I first started doing this I was SHOCKED at how little that was compared to what I used to have! I was sceptical but 27g is just enough to stop me from being hungry til lunch, so I really didn't need to have so much anyway!

    This. About the cereal. Having a "bowl" of cereal was like actually having 3 servings of cereal. Crazy what you learn.
  • modernmom70
    modernmom70 Posts: 373 Member
    In Weight Watchers fruits and veg have no points - they are "free" foods & can be eaten freely, regardless of size - with a few exeptions like bananas and avocados.
    Wha?! That seems wacky to me.

    The free fruit and veggie is incorporated into to the points allowance. And it is not a free for all, it is free because it is assumed you will only eat the recommended daily allowance. When I did weight watchers only veggies was free, when they switched to free fruit alot of people actually started gaining weight because they saw it as a free for all.
  • mrsmel55
    mrsmel55 Posts: 168
    I don't worry so much about weighing fruit. I weigh meat. Chicken and fish mostly. I was over estimating the fish which means I can have more. The only thing I wonder about is raw and cooked. It's all a best estimate on most of it anyway. Oh and I weigh my home fries. That way I know how much I can have and its a lot really. I just cut up a potato, spray it with canola oil Pam, a very little salt and pepper and roast on a sheet pan in the oven. So yummy.
  • kimiec
    kimiec Posts: 62
    Most of the time the only thing I use my scale for is meat because to eye ball a 4oz hamburgh is just way to hard I always want mine to be bigger. But I have weight other thing but I don't want to have to weigh every little thing I eat and to be honest everything is an estimated there isn't a food out there you will find that will be dead on. So if you want the whole picture weight everything.
  • Monkee8088
    Monkee8088 Posts: 143
    Got used to use the scale.... not the most precise but defi itely gives an idea..... might upgrade for a digital one someday :-)



    digital scales are awesome, and fun to play with!!
  • dillyweed
    dillyweed Posts: 9
    I have found that I consume much more sodium than i had thought. It is hidden everywhere and adds up big time even if you don't reach for the salt shaker.
  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    In Weight Watchers fruits and veg have no points - they are "free" foods & can be eaten freely, regardless of size - with a few exeptions like bananas and avocados.
    Wha?! That seems wacky to me.
    The free fruit and veggie is incorporated into to the points allowance. And it is not a free for all, it is free because it is assumed you will only eat the recommended daily allowance. When I did weight watchers only veggies was free, when they switched to free fruit alot of people actually started gaining weight because they saw it as a free for all.
    I did Slimming World for my first 2 stone (only quit because I moved country) and not only is fruit (fresh and not pureed) and veg free, so is pasta, potato, rice, lean meat and fish and a boat load of branded food. Sounds wacky but it works!!! I'm living proof :bigsmile:
  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
    Cereal and cheese. A serving of cereal is miniscule! I either have that serving and bump it up with fruit or have 3 servings and try not to worry about it. Cheese seems to be one of those dense foods that weighs a lot given it's relatively small volume.
  • Seokie
    Seokie Posts: 197 Member
    My food scale really helped me - I was over estimating, on EVERYTHING - when I weighed it out I couldn't believe it - I thought I'd be having 400g of strawberries and it was only 150g. I'm REALLY bad at estimating apparently :(
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    My lastest was cocoa powder. Not a high calorie item, but still. I figured my giant heaping teaspoons would equal a tablespoon. Lol! By weight it was SIX! Weigh everything you can unless you want to kid yourself! I use cup measurements in a pinch and eyeball measurements as a last resort like when my DH cooks or I go out to eat which is probably laughable!
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    My food scale really helped me - I was over estimating, on EVERYTHING - when I weighed it out I couldn't believe it - I thought I'd be having 400g of strawberries and it was only 150g. I'm REALLY bad at estimating apparently :(

    I did this too. Was very happy to find out I could eat more.
  • mexy04
    mexy04 Posts: 96
    This is like a huge coincidence, I don't like making pasta because I'm never sure how much I'm eating. I made 4 cups of raw noodles and then ate two bowls but I'm just not sure how much I really ate because the weight changes once it's cooked and I always make sea shells rather than spaghetti or macaroni.
  • Birder150
    Birder150 Posts: 677 Member
    Man, I love my food scale!

    I have been pleasantly surprised by weighing. I can get a lot more of the frozen veggies, fruit and greek yogurt than I could with measuring cups.
    Meat was an eye opener. My hamburger patties from Costco are over 400 calories! (I still eat them of course :smile: )
    The gigantic Costco chicken breasts pack a punch, too.

    I feel slightly OCD about the scale but I :heart: it.
  • mexy04
    mexy04 Posts: 96
    In Weight Watchers fruits and veg have no points - they are "free" foods & can be eaten freely, regardless of size - with a few exeptions like bananas and avocados.
    Wha?! That seems wacky to me.
    The free fruit and veggie is incorporated into to the points allowance. And it is not a free for all, it is free because it is assumed you will only eat the recommended daily allowance. When I did weight watchers only veggies was free, when they switched to free fruit alot of people actually started gaining weight because they saw it as a free for all.
    I did Slimming World for my first 2 stone (only quit because I moved country) and not only is fruit (fresh and not pureed) and veg free, so is pasta, potato, rice, lean meat and fish and a boat load of branded food. Sounds wacky but it works!!! I'm living proof :bigsmile:

    I'm a little confused by this. Does that mean everything is free? How do u measure...do u measure?
  • k8lyn_235
    k8lyn_235 Posts: 507 Member
    I've been entering the 1/2 cup of strawberry halves, but boy can I pack a measuring cup with strawberries! If there was a Strawberry Tetris Championship I would win it.

    LMAO.
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